Boxing’s Greats of the States | Alabama: Earnie Shavers

Boxers come from every corner of the globe. Sometimes, fighters are products of their environment, favoring styles prevalent in the country or state from which they hail. Various regions of the United States are considered factories for great fighters, though that certainly is not the case with each state. In this weekly Sherdog.com series, the spotlight will shine on the best boxer of all-time from each of the 50 states. Fighters do not necessarily need to be born in a given state to represent it; they simply need to be associated with it. For example, all-time great heavyweight legend Joe Louis was born in Alabama, but he is identified almost universally with Detroit.

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The first installment in the “Greats of the States” series focuses on Alabama, a southern state surprisingly rich in boxing history. However, several key fighters born in the “Yellowhammer State” are not recognized as Alabama fighters, so they receive honorable mentions here. However, one luminary of the Sweet Science is regarded as the pride and joy of the state: Earnie Shavers.

Shavers was a ferocious puncher, a large man considered by many historians to be the hardest pure puncher the heavyweight division has ever seen. In fact, “The Black Destroyer” boasted 44 knockouts among his first 47 wins, and the Garland, Alabama, native went toe-to-toe with many of the greats during the strongest era of heavyweight boxing. He locked horns with Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes (twice), Ron Lyle, Jimmy Young and Jerry Quarry, though he was only victorious against Young, beating him by first-round TKO in their first encounter on Feb. 19, 1973.

Shavers never captured a world title; his most significant triumph came in 1979, when he flattened eventual hall of famer Ken Norton in the first round at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. Though he was a beloved figure and scored some of the most violent knockouts ever witnessed, his career was not quite distinguished enough to earn entry into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He finished with a stellar record of 74-14-1, with 68 KOs.

Honorable Mentions: Joe Louis, Evander Holyfield, Deontay Wilder, Eric “Butterbean” Esch